escape to the top

i want to escape here: 

stay for a while in the presence of God and my own soul. 

mmm, nice.

fire lookout - Cascades, WA.

a gentle reminder

Go easy.
You may have to push forward, but you don't have to push so hard.
Go in gentleness, go in peace. 


Do not be in so much of a hurry. At no day, no hour, no time are you required to do more than you can do in peace. 


Frantic behaviors and urgency are not a foundation for a way of life. 


Do not be in too much of a hurry to begin. Begin, but do not force the beginning if it is not time. Beginnings will arrive soon enough.


Enjoy and relish middles, the heart of the matter. 


Do not be in too much of a hurry to finish. You may be almost done but enjoy the final moments. Give yourself fully to those moments so that you may give and get all there is. 


Let the pace flow naturally. Move forward.
Start. 
Keep moving forward. Do it gently, though. 


Do it in peace. 
Cherish each moment. 


-Melody Beattie 


Go easy on yourself and go with grace.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our obligations, our busy schedules, our lists of the 'things we absolutely must get done' and we forget about living. We forget that each breath we take is a miracle. We forget to say 'thank you' and smile when we first open our eyes in the morning. We forget how wonderful it is to just be.
(I know I am guilty of all of these things on many occasions.)

We must trust that things are going to work out, that we are a beautiful creation that has a deep spiritual purpose in this life and that being here is no accident.

We must go easy. Slow down. Breathe. Smile. Cherish who and what we have, the experiences of the every day. Each day.

what would a girl do with out her dad?

:: someone said to me today ::

"it's never what you face but always how you handle it."

that someone was my father.

my amazing, brilliant, strong, loving, best friend of a father. he has helped me through so much. he has remained calm in the face of my anger, comforting in the face of my tears and understanding in the face of my hardest moments in life.

i am working on 'handling' life's 'situations' in a strong and reasonable way. and with a happy heart.

a true experiment of life; our only shot.

em:barking on what is 'up'

and now, a p-p-poem of sorts::

and now we embark, yet again
seemingly falling, crashing perhaps
but maybe we are just turned right side up and are actually falling toward the sky
and all the possibilities only 'up' can manifest.

she hung upside-down long enough
she began to believe she could walk on the sky.

today's possibilities are endless
worry less.

i am currently sitting outside in the sun, with leggings and a t-shirt on... In February... In Portland, Oregon.

What? wonderful.

Let's all just pause a moment and smile. Laugh. Hug the Earth and thank the Universe and all her power for giving us this day.

i am also currently unemployed. as of yesterday. and i've never been happier or more okay with a decision in my life. that was a hard ledge to jump off of. but, i trust that i have a parachute of some sort strapped to my back because i'm already off the edge!

i have been completely trapped for months. tied to a job i absolutely hated because it paid the bills. it was making me feel stifled, angry, resentful, bitter, tired, sloth-like and moody. that's a lot of shit i am not used to feeling. and for months, these feelings put me to bed at night and woke me up in the morning.

my soul needed a way out. it had been calling to me for so long to feed it with something worth feeling. something worth doing. something worth waking up in the morning for (not that my life and my loved ones aren't enough for that- but it needed more).

i don't enjoy admitting that my feelings were massively tied to a place of employment, but it's the truth. and for a lot of us, it's the truth.

WAKE UP is what it called to me. take a leap.

no, i don't know if i'll be okay.

no, i don't have any money.

and no, i don't know if my decision was the right one.

but what i do know it was imperative that i gave it a shot. i am trusting the universe today and every day. i am working on dis-attaching myself to the things that make this crazy society spin. i am revolting in joy and in faith.

i am loving and nurturing my soul. and it's awesome.

thank you.

i love this journey!

We have lived our lives by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. We have been wrong. We must change our lives so that it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption, that what is good for the world will be good for us. And that requires that we make the effort to know the world and learn what is good for it. --Wendell Berry

Artisans for Haiti Benefit!

Our second annual Artisans for Haiti benefit night is coming up! Saturday the 24th!
Come one, come all! It's going to be a great night, there will be dancing, wine, great food, fun band, games, silent and live auction and more!



Come support a great cause and the children of Haiti!

www.artisanforhaiti.org

dope.

nw represent.